The group traveled parallel to a wide river. This route would take them to a medium-sized city in the Country of Rivers, near the border with the Country of Wind.
During the last week, Karin had already lost all her wariness regarding her new masters, at least on Takeshi's side.
She still felt intimidated by Kimiko's coldness, whose face only showed changes if the subject involved Takeshi.
For her part, Yumi had rested her body as Takeshi had ordered. Good nutrition and not having her chakra and vitality constantly drained had done wonders for her stamina.
Her vacant gaze and the gray aura that always weighed on her disappeared, replaced by lively eyes and a glow that only enhanced her natural beauty.
Yumi was a charming woman. Takeshi felt happy in his heart to have such a beautiful Onee-San in the group, despite her still-marked body.
But that would not last.
For her part, Karin was feeling more and more at ease. Her older brother Takeshi was kind, talked to her, and taught her many things. Most importantly, he treated her mom well.
The only one who seemed not very happy was Kimiko, who pouted every time she noticed the furtive glances her son cast at the elder Uzumaki.
But during a lunch break, Kimiko's expression turned serious and the air around her suddenly cooled.
Yumi flinched a little, and Karin stopped asking Takeshi questions.
The young man looked in the direction where his mother had fixed her eyes and said a single word.
—Go ahead.
Kimiko vanished in a blur of movement, disappearing among the trees.
—What's wrong, big brother Takeshi?— Karin asked nervously, instinctively grabbing his sleeve.
Takeshi looked down and his kind smile returned, patting the girl's head, which calmed her down a bit.
—Just some pests. Don't worry about it.
Yumi looked with concern at the tree line. Unlike Karin, she did understand what "pests" meant.
A couple of minutes later, some muffled screams were heard coming from the trees, dry branches being trampled, and the dull sound of bodies hitting the ground.
A series of erratic rustling sounds were heard to their left, and they saw a large man with his face and forearms scratched, a result of running desperately through the vegetation.
He froze for a moment, looking at the woman, the girl, and the boy who were calmly in the clearing, as if nothing bad in the world was happening.
Suddenly, a monstrous force slammed into the back of his knee, forcing him to kneel on the spot.
Yumi and Karin opened their eyes upon seeing Kimiko's serene but deadly figure behind the man, her eyes indifferent as a kunai was slid toward his throat.
—Stop— Takeshi said with a calm tone. He spoke unhurriedly and with an unshakable certainty that the woman would not disobey him.
And Kimiko stopped, the sharp blade millimeters from the man's flesh, whose face turned pale as his mind finally managed to comprehend what had happened.
Takeshi approached, leaving Karin next to her mother, and walked toward the terrified and subdued man.
—Did you find everyone?— he questioned Kimiko, who nodded silently.
Then he looked at the man and his voice turned icy.
—If you don't want to die here and now, tell me where your group's base is.
—Y-yes, as you order, Young Master!— the guy stammered, surprising everyone present.
Karin and Yumi were surprised by Takeshi's intimidation, while Takeshi himself and his mother were surprised because there was indeed a base and a group.
In the past, they had encountered bandits many times, but they were always nomads who went and plundered wherever they could. They never had the luck to run into organized bandits who had a base.
Takeshi nodded to his mother and Kimiko let the subject go. He knelt and thanked them for the mercy shown before informing them of the bandit group's location and fleeing with his tail between his legs.
—Why did you let him go?— Yumi asked while they ate lunch. She hadn't said a single word after what happened, but curiosity won.
It was very uncommon for someone taken hostage by shinobi to get out alive.
—Hm, because I said I would if he told me the truth— he replied casually while putting more food into his mouth.
Yumi frowned. She considered many things, glancing at her daughter who was carelessly stuffing her face with food.
—What if he harms other people? What if he doesn't leave the bandit life? What if he tells others about us?— Yumi insisted.
—Whoa whoa, calm down there!— Takeshi said, swallowing hard and drinking water before continuing.
—First, it's not my business if he harms other people. Second, it's not my business what he does with his life. And third, who is he going to tell? Kusagakure? If the man has any gray matter, when he encounters Kusa-Nin he will understand that the information he has will definitely kill him.
With the ease with which he sold out his comrades, it is clear to me that his life matters more to him than anything else. What do you think will happen if Kusagakure finds out that he knows something about two redheads?— Takeshi concluded with a sly look.
Yumi nodded, understanding what he meant. Although, she still felt that this carelessness about the innocent lives the man would probably harm was out of place.
But oh well, there was nothing she could do.
***************************
Hours later, two figures were gliding under the cover of night through the darkened forest with light, stealthy steps, leaping between tree branches without making a sound.
Takeshi and Kimiko had left the Uzumaki mother and daughter in a secluded and safe place, where not even beasts would reach them. Now they were following the directions of the nameless bandit in search of a lair with the intention of clearing it out.
It didn't take long for them to see the smoke from a couple of bonfires in the distance and they quickly headed in that direction.
Although neither of them was a sensor, they were not afraid to approach and launch an all-out assault against these unknown people.
In the first place, it was doubtful that there would be any particularly strong shinobi in the middle of nowhere, and in the second place, Takeshi could handle problematic opponents.
It was because of the latter that Kimiko felt no fear in taking her son to a massacre. Of course, she hated that Takeshi got his hands dirty, and as a mother, she would always worry about her son.
But she had already accepted that Takeshi was far above her in everything. That was why she was so obedient to his instructions, despite being the adult.
—Only Ice Needles. You are not allowed to use kunai or shuriken, Mizu Bunshin, Hyōton Bunshin, or Shunshin— Takeshi ordered with an authoritative tone that made the ill woman tremble slightly.
She jumped into the enemy camp, which consisted of a few tents in the middle of a clearing. Her hands blurred into quick hand signs, her chakra mobilized, expelling a little mist around her, but not to hide.
Hyōton: Kōri Kagi
Ice needles formed from the moisture and shot out toward the tents, tearing the simple cloth and striking down some bandits.
Two of them received a needle in the eyes, killing them instantly when the technique pierced through their sockets. The rest woke up due to the pain of being turned into pincushions.
But one felt the danger and shot out of the tent before the needles hit, a kunai already in hand, which he probably slept with.
—W-what the hell!?— spat the shinobi, whose headband marked him as a rogue shinobi from Tanigakure. He turned to the beautiful woman with black hair and cold eyes, dozens of crystalline needles dancing around her.
Kimiko launched her needles again, but the shinobi reacted precisely, evading and blocking with his kunai. His bewildered gaze quickly sharpened and he took a great leap backward, creating space between himself and the assassin.
Kimiko launched her needles again, but the shinobi reacted precisely, evading and blocking with his kunai. His bewildered gaze quickly sharpened and he took a great leap backward, creating space between himself and the assassin.
—What do you think you're doing, Kunoichi of Kirigakure!? You're far from your area of influence!— the Ninja exclaimed with sweat running down his forehead. Although he didn't see a headband, there was only one Clan in this world that could use Ice in its Ninjutsu.
—Is that the best you could come up with? Even if I came from Kirigakure, your words wouldn't change anything— Kimiko said dryly, almost rolling her eyes as she wove more hand signs and more ice needles formed.
The shinobi clicked his tongue and lunged at the kunoichi, hoping to intercept her before she completed her technique.
Much to her chagrin, Kimiko almost responded with a block and a kick, but remembered that Takeshi forbade her from using anything other than her ice needles.
She concentrated her chakra, forming the needles faster and without moving from her spot. It wasn't that Takeshi was cruel, but that Kimiko, having abandoned the Clan at such a young age, did not complete her years of training like any other blessed high-class child.
Her growth as a Kunoichi was stunted. Her strength did not increase significantly beyond improving in Taijutsu and her chakra reserves increasing with age.
She, a high-class member of the Yuki Clan, could not even hold back a Tokubetsu Jōnin. It was already difficult for her to fight against Chūnin.
That is the reality for those who do not have the backing of a Clan, a village, or an academy. At least, most of them.
But Kimiko was among that majority, so she was not very strong.
The kunai was thrown at the woman and her eyes narrowed, her body tensed, but she refused to move from her spot.
A ball of water shot out from somewhere among the trees and intercepted the kunai before it could embed itself in Kimiko's neck, surprising the rogue Ninja.
A second later, Kimiko completed the formation of her needles and stabbed the man to death.
Takeshi approached with a Shunshin and sighed, looking at his mother tiredly.
—I told you no kunai or other Ninjutsu, not that you couldn't move.
Kimiko ignored him, her cold expression disappearing into a silly smile with flushed cheeks, jumping toward Takeshi and wrapping her arms around him.
—Hehe, Takeshi saved me. Takeshi is my Hero!— she purred.
The young man could only shake his head at the antics of his deviant mother.